Setting your business plan for the new year.

The start of a new year is a very exciting time as it means fresh beginnings. If you’ve had a rough year, you can wipe the slate clean and start again! Or if you’ve had a great year, you’ve laid some awesome foundations to build on and grow in the new year.
At the start of every year, I sit down and map out my personal goals for the year and just as importantly, I do the same for my business. I want to share with you the process I go through that can help make this overwhelming task seem a little more straightforward!

Reflect on the year gone by. Before we go charging ahead with our goals for the new year, it is a great idea to reflect on the year gone by. Did you have a plan for the year? What were your goals? How did you go achieving them?
If you got there, awesome! Need to set higher ones for this year 😉 If you didn’t hit them, don’t worry! Wipe the slate clean and start again. What a perfect opportunity at the start of a new year to set some new targets and importantly, get a plan in place to smash them!

Create your plans. This is about identifying what you want to achieve for the year. The best way I suggest to do this is by creating the following:

Business Plan

Marketing Plan

Budget

Your business plan helps you map out your vision for your business, as well as any “operational” matters you need to address. Your budget is about your financial targets and breaking them down into a month by month plan.
Lastly, a marketing plan identifies how to plan to promote your business each month throughout the year to ensure you achieve your goals.

Set your Action Plan. Yay! Now you have a plan in place for what you want to achieve, your Action Plan is about putting it all on paper and breaking it down month by month so you know exactly what you need to do and when you need to do it.

Make it happen! Start working through your Action Plan! A great idea is having an accountability partner, or a business coach to keep you on track towards your goals and steer you in the right direction if you get a little lost.

One thing is for sure; if you fail to plan, you plan to fail, but with a solid plan in place, the new year is bound to be a great one!